Developer’s Description
CAD-COMPO is a combo of popular CAD plug-ins for Illustrator. Your Illustrator will turn into a professional CAD software! Contained plugins:BPT-Pro: Adobe Illustrator becomes a highly functional 2D-CAD program with 8 kinds and 19 different tools, all accessible through Illustrator tool box and a convenient information palette. You can easily draw dimensions of objects with free curved lines, and measure everything from a segment of an object, to the object itself, and even a group of objects. “Object numbering too”, “commenting tool” and automatic updating function are newly added.
EXDXF-Pro: EXDXF-Pro exports CAD-standard dxf to Illustrator data and imports dxf to Illustrator in great quality. Various import/export settings are available to meet your demands. EXDXF-Pro will solve any problems with dxf conversion that cannot be handled by Illustrator’s native function.
CAD-COMPO is a bundle made out of two very useful plug-ins for Adobe Illustrator. Basically, with the help of the BPT-Pro and the EXDXF-Pro plug-ins bundled within, you can transform the popular Adobe app from an app capable of handling mostly drawing-related tasks, into something that can also handle a fair degree of technical design.
Both included plug-ins can be installed with minimum fuss
To start taking advantage of what this bundle can offer, simply download the package, unzip the archive and install both plug-ins following typical wizard-based procedures.
As we’ve discovered during our tests, it’s better to turn off Illustrator during this process.
The first plug-in makes Illustrator feel like a capable 2D-CAD utility
BPT-Pro brings to Illustrator a set of 19 neatly integrated and useful features in the Tools panel, organized in 8 sections with self-explanatory names. These categories include tools for precise angle, radius, diameters and other dimensions measuring, as well as a couple of editing and drawing tools for building arcs and fillets, for example.
There are two more interesting tools, one that allows you to quickly add the obligatory Title Block in your technical design projects, and one that allows you label any existing component.
The seconds plug-in is actually a very useful conversion DXF conversion tool
The second plug-in, EXDXF-Pro is slightly more unobtrusive, but you might argue, just as useful as the first. In plain words, this plug-in makes Illustrator a bit more “open” to working with AutoCAD projects as it offers better support for DXF files, all while fixing possible accuracy and compatibility issues.
If installed correctly, you should be able to notice it’s presence each time you either import or export AutoCAD DXF projects.
Gives Adobe’s Illustrator 2D-CAD superpowers
To conclude, if you’re looking for a comprehensive solution towards making Adobe Illustrator more suitable for technical design and 2D-CAD-related work and not just leading drawing features, then CAD-COMPO might just fit the bill. Speaking of bills, as expected, it’s more advantageous to buy the CAD-COMPO bundle than buying both packaged products separately, so that’s something to keep in mind.
CAD-COMPO is a plug-in software includes BPT-Pro and EXDXF-Pro. BPT-Pro is a software to add a highly functional 2D-CAD program into Illustrator. EXDXF-Pro provides that to import CAD standard DXF files to Illustrator, and to export AI files to CAD. This Product is Plug-in Software for Adobe Illustrator. The product can work in the same environment in which the Adobe Illustrator software installed in your computer works correctly.
CAD-COMPO 2 is a plug-in software includes BPT-Pro2 and EXDXF-Pro2. BPT-Pro2 is software that adds a highly functional 2D-CAD program into Illustrator. EXDXF-Pro2 provides functionality to import CAD standard DXF files to Illustrator, and to export.
Pros: This application is a plug-into Adobe Illustrator. It contains two BPT-Pro2 provides 2D CAD program functionalities to the Illustrator. The second module EXDXF-Pro2 provides the capability to import/export modules. This provides the necessary link with applications, particularly that 2D CAD standard AutoCAD, via the drawing format standard DXF. Illustrator becomes a highly functional 2D-CAD program, equipped with 8 kinds and 17 different tools, all accessed through the Illustrator tool box with a convenient information palette. While the drawing tools of Illustrator are used these modules add specialized engineering 2D drawing needs into the basic package. Initial settings are done to set the measurement units, accuracy etc. For example shape, resolution, unit, unit decimal accuracy, font to be used for dimension values and shape, weight of dimension lines and the style of the pointers etc can be set. Specialized drawing tools that get added are arc tools (tangential lines, three points, center & two points etc.),fillet tools (addition, separate & replace types), angle and slant tools, object number tool, comment tool and a schedule tool that lets you add a BOM schedule. The information shows various useful information within a window, These include the X, Y co-ordinates of the cursor on the screen, length measurements etc. are provided. The length measurement actually measures the true length of an element taking all the segments into account. You can easily display the dimensions of objects. Whole set of dimensioning tools are available with the plug-in that include beside the straight dimensioning oblique dimensions, curved dimensions, radius/diameter dimensions etc.
Cons: To be really useful the compatibility with other CAD applications is important and that takes a lot of testing to establish. One should run benchmarks with samples from his own domain to test this out. The help manuals could have been more readable.
Overall a nice program, easy to use and extends functionality of an existing program. This is very good at 3 star level.
Publisher’s description
CAD-COMPO2 Publisher’s Description
Adobe Illustrator is a great software which you can draw anything in its intuitive way of operation. Do you know that adding some extra tools to it makes a great CAD software?
CAD-COMPO is a series of plugins that allows you to do professional CAD work on Adobe Illustrator – measurement, dimensioning, labeling, exporting/importing DXF and even more.
Try Adobe Illustrator + CAD-COMPO before paying for expensive CAD!